Olivia Newell with Theory Salon

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Stone Payton: Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Cherokee Business Radio Stone Payton here with you this morning. And today’s episode is brought to you in part by Woodstock Neighbors magazine, bringing neighbors and business together. For more information, go to Facebook and Instagram at Woodstock Neighbors Dot BVM. And if you have a heart for community and you have a small business and you want to grow that business while serving your community, consider checking out our Community Partner program. Go to Main Street warriors.org. All right, it’s time for our headliner today. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Theory Salon. Ms. Olivia Newell. How are you?

Olivia Newell: I’m great. Good morning. It’s so nice to be here with you today.

Stone Payton: Well, it is a pleasure to have you in the studio and as invested as you are in beautiful hair, you came in with a gorgeous hat as well. And I think about my wife because I know I’m biased, but I think she looks so great in hats.

Olivia Newell: You know what that is? My staple look is a hat. Because I always say if a hairstylist has bad hair, that means she’s busy.

Stone Payton: I love it. I love it. All right. I got a ton of questions and I know we’re not going to get to them all, but I’d love to maybe start the conversation with you, if you could. For me and our listening audience, if you could articulate mission purpose, what are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks?

Olivia Newell: Yeah, absolutely. So I am a Woodstock local. I’m born and raised. I’ve been here my whole life. And about seven years ago, we opened the doors to Theory Salon. We were in the public shopping center off of Trickum and 92. And then about a year ago in November, we bought out a commercial building. So we are staying in Woodstock forever. So that’s kind of, you know, our stick of where we came from and who we are. We’ve got a team of about 20 girls that work for us now. We love to build women from the ground up. So one of our top stylists came to us. She graduated from high school and was in college and wasn’t really loving the route that she was on. So she kind of took a chance on us, dropped out of college, and she’s one of our top competing stylists. She just got back from New York City, where we took them to the L’Oreal Soho Academy, where they learn from platform artists that do New York Fashion Week and Vogue magazine and all that stuff. So we train them from the bottom up and they learn from the best.

Stone Payton: Well, New York must have been a blast. Say more about that.

Olivia Newell: Yes. Yes. So I personally actually got to do New York Fashion Week this year, which was highlight of my life, not even my career. It was really cool to be bumping shoulders with Nikki and Paris Hilton and Vanessa Williams and just the Who’s who of the world. I just kind of stood in this corner and was like, I’m supposed to be here, I swear. Um, so yeah, it was amazing. So I got to do hair for that and they posted it in Times Square. It was just on the big screen TV of the of the Pamela Roland show and the models that I got to do. And it was amazing to see. It was awesome.

Stone Payton: All right. And your your new location, where are you located now? Yes.

Olivia Newell: So we’re still on 92, just a little further down. We are in between the swimwear store and Bridals by Madison. It is going towards Roswell right before you get to Lucky’s beverage on the right hand side.

Stone Payton: Well, that’s handy, right? Yeah.

Olivia Newell: All those things are great.

Stone Payton: Your haircut. Pick up a handle. I like it. It could be your new slogan.

Olivia Newell: Exactly.

Stone Payton: All right. You got to tell me more about your. Your backstory. How did all this get get started for you?

Olivia Newell: Yeah. So I am very blessed that I came from a family of entrepreneurs and I actually owned the salon with my mom. We own it with our other business partner, Lita. But my mom and Lita have been in the salon world for over 35 years. They had a salon in East Cobb for my entire existence, so that’s where I grew up, working at the front desk and shampooing hair. They didn’t care about child labor laws back then. Clearly that’s where I spent my Saturdays as a kid. I went to college to UGA and then after I graduated I came back and worked for the salon for a little while. My mom was really pushing me to not follow her footsteps, but I loved the industry and I she saw how much I enjoyed it and I was really good and passionate at it. So she was like, Let’s become business partners. So. Yeah. So then theory kind of formed itself and we just haven’t looked back ever since.

Stone Payton: Is there anything particular behind the name theory?

Olivia Newell: No, it was like my mom was on the couch and was like, Hey, I got a name. It’s theory. And we were like, Oh, that’s actually a great name. So and she she named the last Salon Impulse, too, so she’s good with the names. We’ll keep her for that. Yeah, we.

Stone Payton: Got to put her to work in branding new shows. When we launch new shows, we’ll give her a call.

Olivia Newell: Exactly.

Stone Payton: So you’ve clearly been at this a while. You all have your established you’ve got a lot figured out. I’m sure you’ve you’ve had some challenges and learned some things along the way. But what are you finding the most rewarding at this point? What’s the most fun about it all for you?

Olivia Newell: Yeah, honestly, I still just can’t get over bringing in these girls that really don’t have any idea or direction of what they want to do in life. They just know that like, college isn’t for them. You know, a lot of them have done like the waitress thing, bartending thing, and they’re usually very creative people. So it’s nice to kind of give them a map and a way to become successful and find ways for them to become really proud of themselves and have something that they’re passionate about and they make a killing. And so it’s just great to watch that. I really can’t get over. I’ve been in this industry for over 20 years myself and it just never gets old seeing that. So I love watching these women just become successful and I feel like I’ve had a little bit of a little bit of that. So it’s great.

Stone Payton: So I got to ask you more. I want to do a little deeper dive on this, this idea of recruiting, developing, nurturing, inspiring, motivating your team. I’ve been very fortunate, but through no fault of my own, we have a great team at the business radio network, but it’s definitely not my superpower. What have you learned about recruiting, developing, nurturing, all that kind of stuff? Um.

Olivia Newell: What can I say? I think just pouring your heart into people and being really transparent. I just try to give them advice of what I’ve been through personally, and it’s great because we have myself, I’m 32. My business partner, Lita, is in her 50s and my mom is 68. So we’ve got three women from three different generations. So we pertain to a lot of different groups of women and we can just relate to pretty, pretty much most people that walk through the door. The three of us have definitely been through something. So I think having that relatability and then just the passion that we have, like I said, we’ve been doing this for so long, but everyone that comes to work for us, like they can feel how much we still love to do this. I mean, like I said, my mom’s 68 and still comes in twice a week to do hair because she loves it. Yeah. And it’s just it’s great. It’s great. I have a huge heart for the business.

Stone Payton: And so if and when it does happen and something’s not working out, have you got a methodology, a process for either helping them kind of regroup and turn around or to have the, you know, A, what am I trying to say? An amicable and just, you know, okay, it’s time to, as a former mentor of mine once said, free up your future. I don’t know. You probably wouldn’t use those words.

Olivia Newell: No, that’s great. But the transparency is great, right? No, I can truthfully say this is pretty cool. I don’t know how many businesses can say this. Every person that’s ever worked for my business still comes in and gets their hair done with us. So not everyone was meant to do this as a career. Like I said, we take on a lot of young women that aren’t sure what they want to do, and we’re not a great fit for everyone. And that’s okay. You know, I’m not coffee. Not everyone’s going to love me. Um, so with that being said, though, it’s just I love to just. I’m a girls girl, so I’m here to be supportive of women, whether that means working for me or not. Um, and so, yeah, so all the girls that have girls and guys that have been in our business throughout the years, I wish them nothing but success. And if it didn’t work out in the long run, I always like to think of myself as a stepping stone and into their future. So it’s great. I have great relationships with with everyone and my first employee shout out Natalie. She’s still like our biggest promoter and loves us and it’s just great. It’s great. It’s very humbling and gratitude, feeling.

Stone Payton: And so they’re finding it fulfilling, like you do the work itself, but it sounds like it can be pretty darn lucrative work. Yes.

Olivia Newell: Yes, it’s great. It’s kind of like a little secret these days. I feel like your hairstylist is probably doing pretty well.

Stone Payton: So I love it. So what about passions outside the scope of of that work of actually, you know, doing the the hair? My listeners know I like to hunt fish and travel. Yeah, I love it. But but how about you outside the scope of that work? Yeah.

Olivia Newell: So I’m married. I’ve been with my husband for about ten years and I have a little boy named. Sullivan. He’s three. So he’s our pride and joy right now. So we just signed him up for tee ball this year. So that’s been fun to watch him play at Sierra down the street. He mainly just eats snacks and hang out in the dugout. But it’s you know, it’s all for fun, right? And a huge dog lover. That’s how I met my husband. A mutual friend was like, you have to meet this guy. His dog looks like yours. And I’m like, I have a rescue. No one’s dog. Looks like my brindle puppy. But sure enough, he had his very similar dog. And we’ve been together ever since. And we have our third dog that we added to the family last year. Moose, who is about 100 and something pounds. And oh wow. Between the three dogs and the two boys, I am needing a baby girl, so my house is a little stinky.

Stone Payton: Well, we’re rooting for you. You have to keep us keep us posted on that. That’s funny. So where do you I mean, you’re clearly upbeat, you’re enthusiastic, you’re passion comes through your voice and here, seeing you, your eyes light up whenever you’re talking about any of this. But where do you go for inspiration? Is it that kind of outside passion stuff or do you do you read stuff or do you have a mentor that you talk to? Like, where do you go to get kind of refueled and recharged?

Olivia Newell: Yeah, to be honest with you, I lost my dad about two years ago. He actually committed suicide. But having that experience was a silver lining in life. It really just shows you that life is short. You’re not guaranteed tomorrow. And so I wake up every day very grateful and blessed and honored. And I just take all of that and put it towards my passions. And I just try to make the world a better place, you know, be the better person than I was yesterday. I’m not in competition with anyone. I just want to do good and right by the world.

Stone Payton: Well, and I got to say, some direct and immediate evidence of that is this this pop up event that you’re doing? Let’s let’s talk about that a bit.

Olivia Newell: Yeah, I’m excited. So I took it upon myself. I’ve been consulting for friends and family and small businesses in tenfold with doing what I do because I don’t know how to sit still or be bored. So I decided to start a consulting business and with that I wanted to feature local female owned businesses. So I reached out on Cherokee Connect and I had over 300 applicants that wanted to be a vendor for this event. Huge, huge feedback, a little overwhelming. So after taking the time talking to almost all 300 of them, I selected 40 different female owned businesses. And so we are hosting a pop up on Saturday, October 7th, from 6 to 8 At Theory Salon. There’s going to be several different vendors. Some of the coolest ones that I can think of that come to mind. One of them I’ve met, her name is Ainsley, and she owns the Steel Magnolia. It is a mobile pop up bar. She redid a camper and this will be her big debut at the event. So she’ll be slinging some crafted cocktails. So that’ll be really fun to see her. Another vendor is Ivy Logan Boutique. They took a box truck, redid that and put air conditioning in it and everything. And you can walk up the steps and shop local boutiques right in this box truck. So lots of lots of really cool stuff. I’m excited to have these vendors.

Stone Payton: All right, so October 7th, 6 to 8 and you do you need more people, businesses or do you want to just now get the word out and let people know to come? Yep.

Olivia Newell: So we’re full for vendors for this event. I’ve gotten quite a few businesses since asking if we need vendors. I love the enthusiasm and you guys can follow me on social media for future events, but for this event we need more attendees to come so you can buy your ticket for $5 on the theory salon website. It’s just theory Dash, Salon.com and we’ll share that link here in a little bit. But yeah, we want more people to come. There’s going to be a live band and bounce houses, so it’s kid friendly and like I said, some cocktail charcuterie, lots of shopping, permanent jewelry, free hair and makeup. I mean, this is a really fabulous event. You don’t want to miss it.

Stone Payton: No, I don’t. And I shared with you before we went on air, my sister in law is living with me right now as she’s building a house in Acworth. My wife is is here, so I’m probably buying at least three tickets.

Speaker4: Yeah.

Olivia Newell: You won’t regret it. Trust me, you guys will have a great time.

Stone Payton: I’ll tell you how much how excited I am about this game. Most of you listeners of this show know that I like to hunt, and I’m not going to hunt that evening. I am going to. I’m going to hunt in the morning. I’ll take a shower and Sandy and Holly and Stone are coming to this thing. I love it. I think so. You’re you’re consulting business. This was. Yeah, I mean this is a bit of a it’s not a pivot because you’re still doing the other thing. But it’s it’s an enhancement. It’s. It’s a new direction. Yeah. What compelled you to do it? Why are you focusing on women? What are you learning? All that stuff.

Olivia Newell: So truthfully, like, where the passion stemmed from was helping these young women. And I wanted to further, you know, take that a little further so people that had different businesses that were small businesses, I just wanted to share any resource that I’ve had the opportunity with over the years to make my business successful. I wanted to share with them. I went to school for public relations and marketing, so I felt like I had, you know, a wealth of knowledge that I wasn’t sharing with people. And I wanted to to help women do that. So consulting kind of it’s constantly consulting kind of formed itself.

Stone Payton: Have you been at that long enough to to start to see some patterns of some common challenges that people at that stage in their business are are having you see some things over and over?

Olivia Newell: Yeah, I have a lot of people. They just really don’t know where to spend their money. That’s pretty common.

Stone Payton: And they don’t have a heck of a lot of it in a lot of cases.

Olivia Newell: Right, exactly. So there are small businesses and they’ve got tight budgets and they don’t know what to do with them. And, you know, most people think like, oh, I have to pay a big influencer to post about my product and I like to grow you guys organically. I think just doing things like being on the radio and connecting with your local small businesses and doing these pop up events is a great way for these women to network with one another so that way they can do future events together. One of the boutiques, Apricot Lane, that just opened in downtown Woodstock. We’re going to do a fashion show at the end of the year with her, and we’ll have the charcuterie girl that’s coming to the event and a couple other vendors. We’re all going to connect and do another event together. So it’s a great way for us to network and for them to grow organically without having to spend any of their marketing budget, right?

Stone Payton: Believe it or not, I’ve been to Apricot Lane a half a dozen times at you.

Olivia Newell: I don’t believe you hunt and fish.

Stone Payton: Well, my new criteria for doing most of my business is that it’s golf cart able and and for my I can take my golf cart and so I’ve been with Aunt Sandy. I she’s my sister in law. We call her Aunt Sandy. I’ve been with Holly. I’ve been with my kids.

Speaker4: I love that.

Olivia Newell: It’s a great store.

Speaker4: It’s so cute.

Olivia Newell: I wish I could live there.

Stone Payton: Plus, you can grab a coffee right there at Starbucks. And there’s a I don’t know if the co-working space is up and running yet, but the.

Speaker4: I don’t think so.

Stone Payton: The collaborative, I think it’s going to be there before Tilly’s. There’s a lot of cool.

Olivia Newell: Oh, and the Oyster House is coming.

Stone Payton: That is what I and I saw. They’re hiring, so they must be finally getting close.

Olivia Newell: They said October of 2023. I looked yesterday.

Speaker4: Oh, baby, I.

Olivia Newell: Know I’ll be the first customer. I love oysters.

Stone Payton: Well, you’ll see me there.

Speaker4: Absolutely.

Stone Payton: So coming from your consulting experience, coming from your actual in the trenches, been there, done that experience. As a small business owner, I’d love it if we could leave some of our listeners with a couple. I call them Pro tips. Right? So some do’s or don’ts, some things we should be reading just to begin thinking, you know, just to continue to to inform ourselves and influence our own thinking and sharpen our own our own tools.

Olivia Newell: Yeah, I guess some of the things that I could think of, as I said earlier, is don’t be in competition with anyone. Collaboration that’s going to be your best friend. Um, and just never say no. I’m a yes girl. I’ve taken every opportunity, whether it sounded great or not. I’ve got myself into some weird situations before. But no, I just like to think of everything as a stepping stone and you just never know. And also never burn a bridge. It’s good to keep all your contacts, you know, over the years because you might look back one day and need a recommendation.

Stone Payton: I think that’s marvelous advice. And in early in my career, I did burn a couple, and I really regret that. And for a long time now, I’ve worked very hard not to. And I, I agree. And we the answer, almost a mantra at Business RadioX is some form of yes, It might not be the yes the client wants. You know, they’re not going to get, you know, X at Y fee. Right. But we might be able to get them X at X fee and figure out a way to help them get most of what they want. But it’s you some form of. Yes.

Speaker4: Yes. And you got.

Olivia Newell: To bet on yourself, too. You know, no one else is going to do it. So take the risk, bet on yourself and you’ll be in good. You’ll be in good shape.

Stone Payton: All right. Let’s make sure that we leave our listeners with all of these great coordinates. I want to make sure they can get to the salon. I want to make sure they can. And in the hours and all with the with the pop up. And if they want to reach out and have a conversation with you about the consulting and, you know, maybe make sure and we’ll have all this published when we publish as well. But if someone’s just listening to this where they can start. Following you and tapping into your work. So whatever you feel like is appropriate, let’s make sure they have those coordinates.

Olivia Newell: Yeah, absolutely. So the pop up event is Saturday, October 7th, from 6 to 8, and it’s going to be located in the parking Lot of Theory salon. It’s at 12926, Highway 92. And again it’s near it’s just past the Walmart on 92. And before you get to the Lucky’s beverage on the right hand side, you can buy tickets for the event on our website theory Dash, Salon.com. And if you want to follow me on social media, I’ve got two handles. One of them is Hair and Makeup by Olivia and excuse me. And the other one is constantly consulting.

Stone Payton: Marvelous. Well, Olivia, it has been an absolute delight having you in the studio.

Speaker4: Thank you.

Olivia Newell: I hope to come back. This was so fun.

Stone Payton: Well, keep up the good work. You’re absolutely coming back. We’re going to make that happen. And maybe on the next one, maybe. Or maybe as a recap from one of these pop ups or some of your consulting work, we’ll bring in a delighted client from your consulting work or maybe some folks at the pop up. And let’s give them an opportunity to to share their story and promote their work. So you and I are going to see more of each other, particularly as close as your salon is apparently to both the archery shop that I go to and a liquor store.

Speaker4: Exactly.

Olivia Newell: Yeah. You can’t miss us.

Stone Payton: All right, well, keep up the work. Thank you so much.

Olivia Newell: Thanks so much.

Stone Payton: All right. Until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Olivia Newell with Theory Salon. And everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you again on Cherokee Business Radio.